Together, Forever! Ch. 02

That evening, Victoria was dressed to kill as she pulled into the parking lots of Millennium, a local nightclub where one could dance to the latest hip-hop music. Tom had leant her his Lexus, making her sign in blood that she would take care of it … just her luck that he was one of those guys who loved his car more than life itself. She couldn’t believe the line that stood outside of the club. How was she ever going to get in there? As she stood in line, a guy standing in line behind her decided to make a move. “Hey, you’re new here, aren’t you?”

Victoria turned into the smiling face of a young man with blonde hair. His blue eyes danced in the fluorescent lights that dimly lit the sidewalk they were standing on. “How’d you guess?” she asked, bestowing a dazzling smile on him.

“Well,” he said, stepping closer to her. “I never forget a beautiful face and no one I know has a southern drawn like the one you just used.”

Victoria hadn’t thought about that. Many times, even in Texas, people had commented on her drawl … a true Southerner. “Is that a compliment or a dig?” she asked, clearly teasing him. It looked like they were going to be waiting a while and it wouldn’t hurt to make a friend.

He stuck out a hand to support his weight on the wall behind them, quickly replying, "A compliment of course! Where are you from?”

“Oh, a little town outside of Dallas, Texas. And you?”

“Oh,” he said, sweeping his hand out around them, “Los Angeles of course. I’d be glad to give you a tour.” His dancing blue eyes were brought out even more so by the dark blue shirt he wore under his black jacket.

“I bet you would,” she laughed.

“Vicky!” Victoria turned at the sound of her name, making her new companion look with her.

“Blake!” She gave a small shout of glee and ran into the arms of one of her childhood friends. The young man watched them, disappointment shining in his youthful face. “Oh, my god! I’m so glad to see you! How long has it been? Five, six years?!”

“More like eight or nine.” He grinned down at her. “You look great!”

“And look at you,” she replied, stepping away from him and giving him a smile. “Big movie star … who would’ve thought …”

“Oh, I’m not all that … yet!” He linked his arm in hers and joined her in line.

Victoria turned to her new friend and tried to make some introductions. “Blake, I would like for you to meet … uh, I’m sorry!” she stammered, blushing prettily. “I didn’t get your name.”

“Nick,” he filled in for her, standing upright and sticking out his hand. Blake took it and smiled at him.

“You didn’t waste any time, did you?” Blake teased her, casting a glance at Victoria.

Victoria blushed and apologized to Nick. “Nick, you have to forgive Blake. He doesn’t have any manners.” She leaned over and kissed Blake quickly on the cheek. “You haven’t changed a bit, have you?” she teased. Blake and Victoria had been friends since elementary school and when they graduated from high school, their parents wound up living on the same street. They had been in church and youth group together but had never been anything more than friends and Victoria was glad. She could use a friend to help her out in her quest to meet Colin.

Turning back to Nick, Victoria asked, “Do you come here often, Nick?”

“Yeah, all the time,” he answered.

“Is it always this hard to get in?” she asked, looking ahead to the front of the line, distraught that it hadn’t moved much.

“We usually have to wait, but it’s packed like this usually when someone big is here.”

“Someone big?” she asked, turning back to face the handsome youth.

“Yeah, rumor has it that Colin Mengatti is here tonight. We’ll be lucky if we get in at all!”

Victoria’s heart suddenly flew into her throat as she heard Nick tell her what she had been hoping for. Blake also heard what Nick said and leaned into them, saying, “Hey, great! Maybe I’ll get a chance to introduce you to him tonight!”

“Yeah,” Blake replied. “I had a small part in his last film, Star Struck. He’s a real down to earth guy. Stick around and I’ll introduce you too.” He then nodded towards Victoria. “She’s the one who’s dying to meet him.”

Nick smiled at her. “I thought you and Blake were a couple.”

“A couple?!” she laughed, looking from Nick to Blake.

Blake joined her laughter and added, “I don’t have a chance. She’s got some crazy notion that she’s going to get Colin.” Victoria lightly punched him in the ribs. Nick smiled, watching them bicker back and forth for a minute, deciding that maybe, if he played his cards right, he still might have a chance with this beautiful girl.

They had to wait an hour to get in, but finally did. Victoria was starting to worry that when they reached the door they would turn them away, and they almost did. It was packed and she wasn’t sure what she was going to do, now that she was there. She just knew she had to get Colin’s attention and she only had a week in which to do it!

Nick asked her to dance right off and as they started for the dance floor, Blake leaned into her and whispered, “Try not to break the poor boy’s heart.”

She smiled at him and whispered back, “You just find Colin. I want Colin!”

Blake waved his hand at her in reply as Nick took her hand and led her away. They had a hard time getting out onto the dance floor but when they did, a slow song was on and Nick drew her into his arms and led her across the floor. “You know, I was sure that he was your boyfriend when he first came up to you in line.”

“You did?” She was surprised that someone would think that. But reflecting back, it had been a long time since they had seen one another one might mistake a reunion as a couple embracing. She smiled at him and said, “Blake and I are just friends. I’ve known him since I was a little girl and that was a long time ago.”

“It couldn’t have been that long ago,” he said, openly flirting with her. Victoria was flattered. It was apparent that he thought she was younger than she actually was and that he was attracted to her. If she wasn’t on this crazy quest and about five years younger, she might have been attracted to this young man.

“Longer than you think,” she said, looking around them, hoping to catch a glance of Colin. Nick was content to hold her close and dance. He was a good dancer but Victoria knew she had to make it clear that she wasn’t interested in him romantically. Looking back into his blue eyes, she asked. “How old do you think I am, Nick?”

He looked at her, wondering what kind of question that was. “I don’t know. Twenty-two?”

Victoria laughed and stopped dancing. She brought both of her hands up to his face and cradled it, smiling up at him. “I think I love you,” she teased.

“Why?” he asked, clearly confused. “How old ARE you?”

“I’m NOT twenty-two,” she said, shaking her head. He just continued looking at her so she admitted, “I’ll be thirty-two next month.”

“No way!” he exclaimed, taking a step back. “You’re thirty-one?!” He was incredulous at her admission.

“Yes,” she admitted and then taking his hand, led him back off the dance floor to the bar, ordering a club soda with lemon. “What do you want?”

The bartender interrupted her by asking Nick for some identification. Victoria turned to Nick, waiting. He grinned at her sheepishly and she knew immediate his age. She turned back to the bartender and said, “Make it two club sodas with lemon.” She turned back to Nick as she waited for their drinks and grinned at him. “You’re just a baby, aren’t you?”

“I’m not a baby,” he said, smiling. “I’m just NOT twenty-one.”

Now it was her turn to act shocked. “How old ARE you?” She couldn’t help but tease him. He reminded her of the brother she had always wished for.

“Almost twenty-one,” he quickly added, leaning against the bar with her.

Blake found them this way, a big grin on his face. “Hey, peanut,” he called, using her pet name from their time together years ago.

“Peanut?” she asked, puzzled and then remembered with a smile. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve heard that?”

Blake leaned over the bar and ordered a rum and coke and then turned around and said, “Well, I found him.”

Victoria looked incredulous. “You mean he’s actually here?”

“Yeah.” Blake turned around, paid for all three drinks and handed them out. Looking at Nick, he said, “Club soda?”

“I’m not drinking tonight,” Nick replied, giving Victoria a wink. He knew for some reason she’d never tell his little secret. She smiled at him as she sipper her own, turning back to Blake.

“Where is he?”

“On the other side of the bar, trying to pick up some girl. She’s giving in quick. We need to make our move.”

“Our move?” she asked, confused.

“If you want to meet Colin before he hooks up with someone else tonight, now is the time to do it.”

“I don’t know if I can go through with it,” she whispered, feeling sick to her stomach. She normally wasn’t a nervous person, but the thought of getting near Colin made her queasy.

“You’re not backing out now,” he said, grabbing her by the hand. “Come on, Nick.” Victoria set her drink down and grabbed Nick’s hand for support. She clung onto both guys like she was going to drop. Suddenly her legs felt like jelly. Thank god she hadn’t been drinking or she wouldn’t have made it for sure!

Fighting their way around the other side of the bar, they ran into Colin’s friends who were doing double duty as body guards. “Hold up there,” one of them called and then recognizing Blake, said, “Blake DeWitt? Is that you, man?”

Blake let go of Victoria’s hand, reaching out to take his shoulder, squeezing it while slapping him on the back with the other. “Jay! How long has it been, man?!”

“Sorry Blake. You wouldn’t believe the people that have been trying to get to Colin. It’s crazy! I don’t know why he insists on going out without some professional body guards. I don’t know how much longer I can do this.”

“Hey, let me through, why don’t you. I have some friends that want to meet him.”

“Sorry, man. He’s kind of busy, you know what I mean?” Glancing over his shoulder, Blake and Jay could see him moving in on this girl, trying to talk her into going home with him. “He’d kill me if I interrupted that.”

“Jay, I have someone he’ll want to meet. Trust me,” she said, stepping aside and pulling Victoria up beside him. She was still clutching onto Nick’s hand as well. Jay’s eyes slowly traveled down Victoria’s lithe body and then back up again, coming to rest on her face. Victoria’s look of terror quickly changed to cool reserve as she quietly allowed this personal invasion. If this is all it took to get to Colin, then it was harmless.

“She’s gorgeous, Blake, but he’d still be pissed.” Victoria felt like a mare on an auction block and she bristled in return.

“You know,” she interjected, “I can speak for myself. It’s very rude to speak about me when you can clearly speak directly to me instead.” Jay’s eyes lit up as he took her onslaught directly.

“I apologize, ma’am. Usually the girls that …”

“I don’t want to meet him that badly,” she said, quickly turning on her heel. She would have stomped off if Blake hadn’t grabbed her arm. She quickly wheeled about. “Let go of me!”

Blake quickly assessed the situation, knowing she would be sorely disappointed if he didn’t rectify this quickly. Standing on his tiptoes and peering over Jay’s shoulder, he called loudly, using one of Colin’s nicknames. “Cappy!! Hey Cappy!”

Colin had this young girl right where he wanted and was about to go in for the kill when he heard his nickname being used. He thought about ignoring it for a moment, but the something told him not to and he looked around him, searching for the source of the voice that kept calling him. Not many people used that name around him.

Jay pushed Blake back a step. “Stop man. You’re going to get me in some deep shit.” And then turning, he caught Colin’s gaze. “Oh shit,” he whispered.

Colin caught sight of Blake and immediately recognized him. Looking back at the girl, he quickly decided that he could get someone else if needed and left her side to make his way to where Jay and Blake were standing. The young girl watched his retreating form with disappointment clearly shining in her green eyes.

“Blake! What the hell are you doing here?!” he called with a smile on his face, pushing past Jay and pulling Blake into a bear hug. Victoria and Nick watched in fascination and Victoria couldn’t stop her heart from beating frantically within her chest. She squeezed Nick’s hand so hard that he wrestled it from her. She glanced at him and smiled sheepishly.

“Colin, I didn’t know if we’d get to you tonight or not,” Blake said, stepping back from Colin. “Jay wasn’t about to interrupt you.”

“Oh that wasn’t anything important,” he replied, and Victoria was a little surprised at his flippant attitude toward the girl he had practically been mauling a minute ago. She shook her head in amazement and pity. It was apparent to her that he still wasn’t over that model girlfriend of his that she had read about. Her name had been Marisa something; she couldn’t recall it at the time. Apparently she had dropped him after the movie, thinking they couldn’t survive his new superstardom. Victoria thought it was selfish and stupid on her part. But now, watching Colin’s flippant attitude about women, she quickly deduced he was probably not over that relationship. She heard him say to Blake, “How have you been?”

“Great,” he replied and then remembering the reason he came, turned to Victoria and said, “I just wanted to introduce a friend of mine to you. She’s been dying to meet you.” Victoria glared at him, angry that he made her sound like a groupie or something.

Colin looked around his friend and spied her. His sensual lips broke into a smile as he saw her. She was small and well-proportioned with large round eyes. Her red hair picked up the colored hues of the lights in the club. Blue eyes and hair like beaten copper made her unique in the surrounded wave of blond-haired beauties vying for his attention. He couldn’t help but stare at her, his smile widening.

Victoria held her breath and stared into the bottomless depths of the baby blue eyes staring back at her and then realized she had been staring. Blake could almost feel the air sizzle between the two as they stared at each other and decided to break some of the tension. “Colin, I want you to meet a good friend of mine, Victoria Harrison. Vicky, this is Colin Mengatti. But everyone around here calls him Cappy.”

“Not everyone,” he quickly said.

Victoria bestowed a dazzling smile on him and said, “It’s nice to meet you,” holding out her hand.

Colin took it and slowly raised it to his lips. Looking up into her eyes as his lips softly caressed her hand, he replied, “The pleasure is all mine.” Victoria smile down at him, her blue eyes dancing. She couldn’t believe she was actually standing here in front of him. “You know, you’re absolutely beautiful, Victoria.” She blushed.

“Thank you.” Victoria had always thought of herself as plain. She had a clean, all-American beauty face with beautiful even teeth and big blue eyes. But there was definitely nothing plain about her and Colin noticed it right away. Her breasts were large and full, threatening to spill from her simple black dress and then, her torso narrowed sharply to a tiny waist only to move outward again to round, sensual hips that tapered into long, svelte legs.

Colin straightened back up, gently releasing her hand and then looked at her other hand which was still tightly wrapped around Nick’s. Colin let his eyes travel up the black pantsuit to the youth’s blonde hair; his eyes narrowing as he quickly recognized the youth’s attraction to this intriguing creature. Then turning to Blake said, “Where have you been hiding this one?”

Blake laughed. “She just flew into town on business and I had the opportunity to see her, even if for a little while.” He said it with tenderness, turning back to his old friend. Victoria smiled graciously, squeezing his hand in return.

Turning back to Nick, Victoria wanted to be sure to include him in the introductions. “Blake,” she whispered. “Nick …”

Nick found his voice and filled in the rest. “Cameron. Nick Cameron.” He let go of Victoria’s hand and stuck it out to Colin. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Colin smiled at him as she shook his hand. “Thanks.” Then turning back to Victoria he sad, “Would you like to dance?” She looked at him a moment and then agreed. Taking her hand in his, Colin led her onto the dance floor as she turned her head and smiled triumphantly at Blake.